There are a wide range of medical industries and medical devices that utilize a foot pedal to implement some type of control over the medical device. In this regard, many dental operatories include dental instruments that may be operated in some manner by a foot pedal operatively coupled to the instrument. By way of example, in the dental field, foot pedals may be used to control various motors, burs, ultrasonic probes, suctioning devices, and a host of other dental instruments. Depending on the particular procedure being performed, clinicians or staff personnel will prepare the operatory by removing certain medical devices and their associated foot pedals from the operating environment, and setting up certain other medical devices and their associated foot pedals to the operating environment. In the course of a typical day, clinicians perform multiple procedures using multiple different instruments. Accordingly, staff personnel may be repeatedly assembling and disassembling a wide array of medical devices and associated foot pedals throughout the day.
One challenge of this process deals with the proper orientation of the foot pedal on the floor in the medical operatory. In this regard, during the assembly of the medical devices, many staff personnel will attempt to position the foot pedal on the floor by holding the foot pedal by its cord and slowly lowering the foot pedal to the floor. This technique is considered desirable because it is often easier, in that the staff person does not have to bend down to the floor, and this technique also keeps the person's hands away from surfaces that may be susceptible to the collection of dirt and other debris. In any event, as the foot pedal nears and contacts the floor, in some instances the foot pedal may orient itself so as to be upside down and in what may be referred to as a turtled position.
At this point, the staff person has a few options to correct the orientation of the foot pedal. One option is to simply reach down to the floor, pick the foot pedal up, and manually turn the foot pedal over to its proper, upright orientation. As noted above, however, this places the person's hands near an undesirable surface and requires the person to bend over to the floor, both of which may be considered undesirable. Another option is to manipulate the cord from above in order to right the foot pedal. This may require, for example, the person to quickly jerk or whip the cord in a certain manner in order to turn the pedal over. Yet another option is for the staff person to pull the cord upwardly so as to lift the foot pedal back off the floor, and then lower it once again in an attempt to position the foot pedal in its proper, upright orientation. These latter two options, however, tend to be time consuming and frustrating to many clinicians and staff personnel.
In addition to the above, foot pedals may also occasionally flip over during a medical procedure. In this case, the clinician may need to right the foot pedal quickly and without a significant risk of contamination. Thus, cord manipulation is preferably used in an attempt to flip the foot pedal back over. As it may take several attempts to right the foot pedal using this technique, clinicians may become frustrated at the lack of a quick and reliable way in which to properly orient the foot pedal on the floor.
Accordingly, there is a need for a foot pedal which may be quickly, easily, and reliably positioned on the floor of the medical operatory in its proper, upright orientation.